by Tibor Horváth
This past August, several members of Forgatós attended the Ti Ti Tábor Hungarian Folk Camp, held annually on Raft Island, near Gig Harbor. The instructors this year were Gábor Norbert Kovács, Nóra Gál, and László Tihanyi, (all returning from last year), and joined by Anikó Balássy. The material taught included dances from Magyarszentbenedek, Szászcsávás, Magyarlapád, and Vajdaszentivány. As always, dance camp can be physically demanding, but a good time as well.
Since beginning rehearsals in late August, Forgatós has focused on finalizing our suite of dances from the Mezőség region to present at the 44. Western Canadian Hungarian Folk Festival, to be held in Vancouver, BC on the weekend of October 8-9. We’re very excited to be invited to perform in the sold-out gala show, as groups not from Western Canada are generally not allowed to take part in the festival. Many of us have attended past festivals as guests, but never as performers.
Currently, we have a few new dancers in Forgatós dancing along with those that have danced for years. If you’re interested in learning Hungarian folk dances, come visit us one Saturday morning (after mid-October). We rehearse from 10 am until noon most Saturdays at the Phinney Neighborhood Association in Seattle.